Chennai, Nov 3:
The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) has initiated disciplinary action against protesting retail employees, issuing show-cause notices to hundreds of workers and placing 303 personnel under suspension as operational disruptions affected retail liquor vends across multiple districts on Tuesday. The protest significantly hit over 650 retail outlets across the state between Sunday and Monday.
The disciplinary crackdown saw the highest number of notices issued in Tirunelveli district (247), followed by Tiruchy (185), Tiruvallur East (179), and Pudukkottai (175). In terms of suspensions, the Chennai region topped the list with 169 staff suspended, followed by Salem (75) and Madurai (1), while individual depot units such as Krishnagiri recorded 75 suspensions, Tiruvallur East saw 61, Chennai North recorded 58, and Chennai Central reported 50.
The employee agitation was triggered by the rollout of a revised retail management system that introduces a mandatory Rs 10 environmental and social welfare cess on bottle sales—refundable upon returning empty bottles—alongside mandatory digital transactions for purchases exceeding Rs 1,000. Employee unions have protested against the mandate, demanding additional billing manpower, automated bottle collection kiosks, and barcode scanners, pointing out that frontline shop staff face acute operational strain and customer altercations.
State Prohibition and Excise Minister K. Vignesh issued a stern warning against staff disrupting retail operations, asserting that unauthorised shop closures and disruptions to state revenues will not be tolerated. Despite official warnings and disciplinary notices, trade unions have maintained their agitation, indicating that normal retail counter operations could remain partially affected until administrative grievances are reviewed.